WTA Chairman’s Update #7: October-December 2017

Section: Letter from the Chairman / Members Highlights / WTA Blog
28 October 2017

 

Dear WTA Members, Observers, and Friends:

 

Events:

Regional Taxpayers Forum Bangkok Thailand, December 8-10, 2017

The second WTA-sponsored Regional Taxpayers Forum of 2017 will take place in Bangkok Thailand, December 8-10. The World Taxpayers Associations along with Asia-Pacific Taxpayers Union are pleased to invite Asian and international delegates to join us in an exchange of ideas and best practices to advance the cause of limited and accountable government.

Registration and fees:

Delegates from Thailand, Philippines, Hong Kong, United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, Korea, China, Hong Kong and India have already registered. If you haven’t registered yet you can still do so here. Please act soon, as of this date we have nine spaces remaining.

For paid up WTA members there is no cost, for non-members the conference has a fee of 120 USD per person and it includes conference materials, coffee breaks, and lunches.

Location & Hotel reservation:

Hotel Rembrandt

19 Sukhumvit Soi 18, Sukhumvit Road, Klong-Toei,

Bangkok 10110, Thailand

Web: http://www.rembrandtbkk.com/rooms/

Promotional code: WTAATLAS

 

There are a limited number of travel scholarships available for those in need. Please contact WTA Secretary General Cristina Berechet cristinaberechet@worldtaxpayers.org if you would like to apply.

A draft agenda will be posted shortly on the WTA website. Thursday night the 8th will be a welcome reception followed by sessions on the 9th and 10th.  We look forward to welcoming you in Bangkok in December.

 

The Future of Europe Conference Kiev, Ukraine, November 15-16, 2017

The Taxpayers Association of Ukraine in collaboration with the Taxpayers Association of Europe are inviting all taxpayer groups to join them in Kiev for “The Future of Europe Conference” that will bring together economists, scientists, civil society leaders and lawmakers to discuss the future of Europe. Specific topics will include Ukraine’s role in Europe, European tax trends and reform measure in Ukraine.

Registration and Information:

The event will take place in Kiev, Ukraine, November 15-16, 2017.

For further information please see the draft program.

To download the registration form click here. For further questions you can contact Polina Kolodyazhna at +380634165591 or by email at polinakolodyazhna@ukr.net

The official website for the first day of the conference, November 15th, when Ukraine Level Up Forum will take place, is: http://levelupukraine.org

Member News:

Contribuables Associés: No to tax harmonization inside the EU!

Alain Dumait, co-founder of Contribuables Associés recently wrote an op-ed on why Europe and France should say no to any type of tax harmonization in the EU. If today the focus is on harmonizing the corporate tax rate among EU states, tomorrow it will be the VAT. European unity does not require tax harmonization. The differences in taxation within the United States, from one state to another, amply illustrates this truth.

 

Tax Foundation: the Truth about Multi-national Corporate Tax Avoidance

In the same direction, Scott Hodge, President of the Tax Foundation, debunks the misleading claims about multi-national corporate tax avoidance in this article published in the Real Clear Markets.

 

 Tax Burden in Germany Increases

This year’s tax freedom day in Germany was July 19th. Never before have German taxpayers faced a higher burden. Due to this extraordinarily high tax burden, the German Taxpayer Association calls for substantial tax cuts. To read more on the reforms proposed click here.

Only 45.5% of every euro remains at Taxpayers’ free disposal

 

British Taxpayers’ Alliance: Over-regulation and taxes raise the cost of living

John O’Connell, Chief Executive of the Taxpayers’ Alliance in the UK wrote an article for City Am explaining how Over-regulation, government bureaucracy and unnecessary taxes are bleeding Britons dry. Government intervention and taxation is making taxpayers poorer. Nearly every basic necessity — food, housing, and childcare — has been made more expensive by so-called ‘compassionate’ spending policies. AS one example, the TPA’s report found that if Britain adopted similar regulatory standards to those in Sweden, the average UK household could save up to £7,732 each year on childcare costs.

Prime Minister Theresa May should stand by her defense of free markets by lowering the burden of taxes and regulations.

 

United States: Tax Reform Platform

National Taxpayers Union and Taxpayers Protection Alliance recently hosted a joint press conference on #taxreform. Watch this video of NTU President Pete Sepp and NTU Senior Policy Fellow Mattie Duppler from the event. Also, NTU has just launched an online hub for tax reform at https://www.ntu.org/taxreform/

Momentum 107 Hong Kong: Majority supports using park areas for housing

Momentum 107 polled a thousand people and found a majority believe the land available for housing is not enough. The advocacy group says its survey shows that almost six out of 10 people support developing areas of country parks that are of low ecological value.

As a consequence of these results, Momentum 107 is undertaking a campaign to increase land for residential use by another one percentage point to eight percent, in the next three years.

 

New Zealand: Porky Arrives Down Under!

New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union inspired by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation has developed an annual waste award this year presenting it Rotorua Lakes Council with a “Supreme Certificate of Achievement and Imagination” for using public money for importing mud from South Korea.

Another great idea from our New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union friends is The Bribe-O–Meter. The Taxpayers Union tracked spending promises made by the various parties during NZ’s recent election campaign, updated and released the results to the public. For more detail visit: http://www.taxpayers.org.nz/bribe_o_meter

Canada’s New Moving Company

Carbon Tax policies have driven energy costs up and nowhere is this more evident than in Canada’s largest province of Ontario where the joke is that Premier Kathleen Wynne should open a moving company to support all the people and businesses her government is moving out of the province.

So, in October, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation launched a campaign website  www.WynnesMovingCompany.ca and took the wraps off a decorated 16-foot cube truck emblazoned with the slogan “Kathleen Wynne Moving Company – Helping Businesses and Families Leave Ontario.”

The satirical campaign made stops in 19 communities where we met with local media community leaders and supporters to highlight the damage caused by carbon taxes, increased regulation and skyrocketing energy prices.

Latest Reports Published

The Taxpayers’ Alliance: Public Sector Pay and Strikes

Despite a narrative of squeezed public services, the wages, salaries and pensions of those in taxpayer-funded positions are on average more generous than their private sector equivalents. Since 2009, gross median annual salaries in the public sector were on average 12.4 per cent higher than the private sector.

Read the full report on public sector pay here.

 

Tax burden in the EU:

The 2017 Tax Burden study by the Institut Économique Molinari measures the tax and social security burdens on individual employees earning typical salaries in each of the 28 member states.

The three EU laggards on taxation are France, Belgium, and Austria. On the other side of the coin Cyprus, Malta, and Ireland are the first countries to celebrate “Tax Freedom Day” on March 29th, April 19th and April 26th respectively.

US State Business Tax Climate

The Tax Foundation has released the 15th edition of its State Business Tax Climate Index. The State Business Tax Climate Index is a measure of how well states structure their tax systems. It enables policymakers, business leaders and taxpayers to gauge how their states’ tax systems compare, and provides a roadmap for improvement.

2017: The Year of Video Marketing

One of the memorable presentations at our regional conference in Zagreb this spring was the creative use of video to add to your blog and presentations. Even just filming with your cell phone makes good enough quality and adds interest and news feel.

It turns out video is THE trend in blogging for 2017! The attached two links to Member Press and Hub Spot will give you some good pointers. So good luck – be your own newscaster!

https://www.memberpress.com/blogging-trends-mid-2017-did-we-predict-them-correctly/

https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/2017-year-of-video-marketing

 

Save the Date!

Upcoming Atlas Network Events:

Liberty Forum and Freedom Dinner 2017:

November 7-8

New York, United States

Asia Liberty Forum 2018
February 10-11
Jakarta, Indonesia

Europe Liberty Forum 2018
May 29-30
Copenhagen, Denmark

Latin America Liberty Forum 2018
June 13-14
Santiago, Chile

Africa Liberty Forum 2018
August 23-24
Lagos, Nigeria

 

In closing, I’d like to encourage everyone to please visit our website and our Facebook group. Our community is only as strong and as beneficial as we choose to make it. Please work with our Secretary General Cristina Berechet to feed good content into our network.

Keep up the fight!

 

Troy Lanigan
Chair, World Taxpayers Associations
President, Canadian Taxpayers Federation

E-mail | troy.lanigan@worldtaxpayers.org
Skype | troy_lanigan